Cleaning and Organizing

Although I had been nesting like crazy before Tony was born, it was Bonnie's party over at House of Grace that really got me into the idea of putting more of an organized schedule to my cleaning rather than just cleaning one thing like mad. Then... well, then I had my beautiful baby boy. Who at one month out is nearly 10 pounds!! I cannot believe my preemie boy who was supposed to be in the NICU is now a little chunker! Praise God! So, I'm starting a little late with her party, but I'm going to try to catch up.

And... I will have to show you my redone (AGAIN) living room. Shortly after Tony was born, I realized that the baby stuff was taking up too much space the way everything was arranged. I wanted my kids to be able to play and enjoy the space, not be constricted by stuff. I will post pictures if ever I can find a time when it is not cluttered with toys.

Anyway, now that I'm getting adjusted to caring for two little ones, I decided that I'm going to get organized once and for all.

We're down to a fairly good schedule of:

Getting up, getting changed and having breakfast.

Having another round of pants changes and a snack after two hours.

Another round of changes and lunch after another two hours and an attempt at nap (right now Auds is fighting sleep and I just can't fight with her - and it is a fight - to sleep when her carrying on wakes her brother. If she doesn't nap, she doesn't nap. I'm okay but not thrilled with that at this point.)

Snack # 2 after nap.

Outside play time.

Make dinner and prepare for that night's activities. On Monday it's prayer meeting and choir practice, Tuesday it's weeknight service, Wednesday it's musicians' practice, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are work nights for me and we rest on Sunday

I've also created cleaning schedules broken down into daily, weekly and monthly tasks.

Daily I hope to, in addition to keeping us alive, accomplish:

Make the beds

Wash the dishes

Wash the laundry

Sweep the kitchen and dining room

Pick up toys

Clean the cat boxes... well I delegate that to my husband ;)

Weekly I've divided things into days things should be accomplished:

Monday: Dust and windows/mirrors

Tuesday: Sweep/vacuum floors/furniture

Wednesday: Wash bedding and bath stuff

Thursday: Bathrooms and yard work... again delegated to my husband ;)

Friday: Put away laundry and meal planning (basically figuring out what needs to be bought at the store for the planned meals)

Saturday: Shopping and a catch up day if something happens and a task doesn't get done during the week

Sunday: Garbage

To be done once a month, I've scheduled:

Scrub bathtubs

Wash shower curtains

Organize/purge playroom

Organize outgrown clothing

Organize entertainment center (my husband has a habit of watching something and leaving the DVD on top of the TV and the case for it on top of the radio)

Organize pantry and cabinets

Scrub baseboards

Discard expired food items

Wash garbage cans

Vacuum curtains

Wash blinds

I figure if I keep up on all of these things, that it'll get easier and easier to keep a clean house while getting to spend time with my babies. I want to give them not only my affection, but a place that doesn't look like it belongs on "Hoarders" (I've never seen that show, but I've heard about it).

I also decided to create a general meal plan that we can add specifics to to follow that way it can never get to the "what are we going to have" stage.

Mondays:

Breakfast - cereal

Lunch - PB&J sandwiches with veggies/fruit/organic crackers/etc.

Dinner - red beans and rice

Tuesdays:

Breakfast - organic waffles

Lunch - macaroni and cheese with some vegetable

Dinner - a crock pot meal

Wednesdays:

Breakfast - toast and nutella/peanut butter/jam/etc.

Lunch - rice and gravy

Dinner - salad

Thursdays:

Breakfast - fruit

Lunch - grilled cheese sandwiches

Dinner - a pasta meal

Fridays:

Breakfast - organic yogurt

Lunch - organic convenience foods - I LOVE Annie's and Amy's stuff!

Dinner - homemade pizza

Saturdays:

Breakfast - cinnamon rolls

Lunch - meat and cheese sandwiches

Dinner - a casserole

Sundays:

Breakfast - toast and nutella/peanut butter/jam/etc.

Lunch - a crock pot meal

Dinner - brinner - it's a Sunday night tradition of ours

So, this week's challenge is: Organizing Your Life

We're supposed to ask ourselves:

What and who is important to me?

That would be Jesus and my family. Pretty much everything revolves around those two.

What motivates me?

Jesus motivates me to be a better person and to draw closer to Him daily. My husband motivates me to be a better wife for him. He really is a stand up guy. My beautiful babies motivate me to be a better mommy - especially now since Auds is emulating how I act with her and Tony in caring for all of her babies. If she ever mistreated her babies, I think I would cry... so far, so good! And my clients motivate me to be a better photographer.

What do I want to accomplish in my life?

Ensure that my family knows, loves and lives for the Lord and is loved beyond measure. Eternal salvation is the ultimate goal. Also to be successful in my field.

If I could change anything in my life, what could it be?

Honestly, I'd make myself better. I'd be a better organizer so that I can keep track of things better and spend more quality time with those I love and things I love doing. I'd also change my reaction to my upbringing - *too personal here* - but I had a rough childhood that greatly affected some areas in my life. Although God has brought me miles from where I was through His love and grace, I still struggle sometimes. I don't want my kids to see that in me.

Make a list of your top 10 priorities:

"Your priorities should reflect what is important to you. If you don't decide what they are, others will decide for you. " That is some strong stuff right there.

God

My Savior is the most important thing to me. In addition to just believing, I make it a point to pray every day with my family, alone, anytime, really. We say grace at every meal. We go to every service at our church. My husband and I teach Sunday School and lead worship. We go to practices at the church as well as practice at home on Sunday evenings together - it's like a worship service at our house. I want our kids to know that we make our lives around the Lord, not make the Lord into our lives.

Husband

He is truly my match in every way and sometimes I wonder if I don't show him enough. I always make it a point to tell him that I love him multiple times a day and be affectionate with him. But I want to try doing more to serve him and be a helpmeet to him. He does so much around here to help me and I want to be able to do the same. Dating isn't really an option at this season in our lives, but I do try to make and bake him things periodically "just because" to let him know how much I love and appreciate him.

My Children

They are my miracles and can make me both the happiest person alive and the most frustrated. Be honest, we all have THOSE days. I just want them to always know that they are loved immeasurably - something I never had.

Theology

I know this plays in with God and with our church, but I want to view this as a separate topic because not only do I want to have a relationship with Him and serve Him, but I want to understand Him (as much as is humanly possible since He is greater than our confines) and His Word. There is such power in the Word and such direction for our lives. Since He provided it for us, I want to get as much out of it as I can. I also hope to be able to use this knowledge to reach and teach others.

My Church

My husband and I are active in our church and my husband is a minister. Right now we've been in the position of Sunday School teachers and worship leaders but have been on the receiving side of being blessed by others. One day I'd like to be a blessing to others and give to them as they have given to us.

My Family and Friends

I'm of the school of thought that while you can't pick your family, they're still family and you still have to love them. So I try. I'd like to get better at reaching out more. And I do have the most amazing close friends. Granted, I can count them on just a few fingers. But they are there through thick and thin and are SUCH a blessing in my life.

My Business

I have a great business and get the opportunity to both be at home with my babies and be creative. I love it and could never go back to a standard office job. It is taxing (ha! I'm working on taxes right now... well, I thought it was funny.), but so rewarding. I've made a lot of changes in the past year and plan on doing more this year to give my clients the best.

Health

I use only all natural products in the house, try to eat organic and local as much as possible, cloth diaper, mama cloth, breastfeed, homeopathic remedies, etc. Although I don't belong on a compound in Berkley, I'm trying to give my family the best and keep them healthy. I had a lot of health issues when I was younger, so I'm hoping to avoid that with my children.

Family Sleepovers

I started this tradition in January and plan on keeping up with it until our kids are grown and out of the house. One Friday a month we won't plan anything in the evening. We'll order take out, bring the mattresses in the living room, put a movie in and have a sleepover - just us. As the kids get older, we'll do games and activities. But, right now, watching Beauty and the Beast for the 1000000000th time as I cuddle my sweet babies and sing the songs with Auds is as good as it gets. And, of course, after the kids go to sleep my husband and I get to cuddle too.

Reading With My Kids

The playroom has somewhat of an enviable library. Seriously, it is ridiculous how many books we have. But that's a good thing. I loved books growing up, and the love of literature is one of the things that my husband and I share. Granted "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" isn't "Torents of Spring," but it's all about baby steps. And I'm instilling the love of books young in hopes that they will enjoy it when they're older. When Auds is quiet now, it's a 50/50 chance she's either reading her books or getting into trouble. I love it when it's the first one.

Being Debt Free

I'm not gonna lie, we have debt. Most of it is either from my husband before we got married or incurred through his going to one of the best law schools. Either way, we're working diligently on paying it all off. We hope to be there in a few years and be able to comfortably buy a forever home sometime within the next decade.

A Nice Home

Granted, our house is only about 1500sf, isn't in a ritzy subdivision or newly built. But I don't think that's all that makes a nice home. I want my kids to know that this is a sanctuary - not in the sense that a church is, but that it's a safe place. That underneath this roof there is love, kindness, hope and acceptance. I also want to make it a nice house for them... nicely decorated, clean, a place they can feel comfortable in and proud of.